Reprogramming the Workforce: Ensuring Workers Have the Skills Employers Demand

When

Where

Contact

The nature of work in the United States is changing rapidly, driven by globalization, immigration, and advances in technology. These shifts are forcing today’s workers, businesses, and educators to adapt, often with little sense of what the future will look like. Please join the American Action Forum, in cooperation with the Markle Foundation, for a discussion of these forces, the current and future state of the workforce, and public policy reforms.

The event will feature a keynote address by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett, opening remarks by former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, and two discussion panels with leading experts from policy, industry, and academia.

Wednesday, October 10, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PMDoors open at 9:30 am, coffee and pastries will be served.

Opening Remarks: Denis McDonough, Senior Principal at Markle Foundation, and former White House Chief of Staff

Panel 1: The Changing Workforce 10:00 – 11:00 AM

The panel will focus on how the shifting nature of work relates to significant challenges facing the labor force today such as declining labor force participation, rising job openings, stagnant wages, and skills mismatches.

Panelists:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of AAF & former Director of the Congressional Budget Office

The panel will focus on what is needed to prepare workers for jobs we know that employers demand now. Topics will include work-based training programs, apprenticeships, and policy reforms necessary to strengthen both.

Panelists:

Michael Train, Incoming President of the Emerson Electric Company

Harry Holzer, John LaFarge Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor